From Trinity Retreat

Thursday August 19, 2004

Many people have commented on how pleased they were to see in Catholic New York the pictures of the final vows ceremony for the eight brothers in our community.
Unfortunately, this kind of beautiful ceremony has become rare in today’s Church. That should not be the case, and we should all pray for the restoration of religious life for men and women: friars, monks, sisters, cloistered nuns, and missionary priests and brothers so that religious vocations will once again flourish in the Church.
Members of religious orders were the engine that drove Catholic education and Catholic health care until thirty or forty years ago. Many an orphan was cared for as a child by sisters; many a sick and incapacitated person was nursed by religious brothers and sisters. It is unfortunate that religious life has gone to seed in the United States and that most religious orders are disappearing.
Pray for religious orders. Speak up. Support those that are following traditional values of religious life, and this component of Catholic life, which has endured for many centuries, will return. Wherever the Church has existed, religious life has been present.

Let us continue to pray for each other!

Father Benedict
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Dear Father B.and Crew, Your website is awesome keep up the good work. Father, I still pray Divine Mercy every day for you. Father Glenn you are a good speaker and I like your prayer written for Father Benedict. God Bless De Colores - Adam, Texas

Dear Father Groeschel, I will pray extra hard for all of you in NYC during this period of the Republican Convention. I totally agree with you and their stand. I too used to be a Democrat but no more. I vote for the party that stands for pro-life, and all other Christian values this country was founded on. God help us if it goes the other way. Glad you are able to do EWTN. One of the few programs I watch on tv. What a shame such a tool of communication has descended into such sin filled trash.I'm glad I grew up when there was good tv programs that promoted human dignity. Yours in Christ, - Mary, New York

Good Morning, Father Groeschel. Thank you for reminding us to pray for all of you in New York at this time. For some months now, I have added an intention to my daily rosary intentions which I share now in hopes that your readers will join me in it. Here it is: "May all friends of life and virtue be elected/re-elected, guided by the Holy Spirit and protected from all harm and evil. May all the enemies of life and virtue be thwarted and defeated, but led to repentance and conversion." I am trusting in our merciful Lord and the Queen of Mercy to answer our prayers powerfully. May they protect all of you in New York especially. Father, your shoulder and arm are also part of my daily intentions. Looking forward to reading about your healing very soon! - Mary, Minnesota

Dear father Benedict, I continue to pray for you, your brothers and sisters and the faithful of the U.S.A. PLEASE PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for the Church and the people of Belgium who have lost the Roman Catholic faith so quickly after Vaticanum II. Please PRAY for the shrine of Our Lady in Fatima because some Church people want to make from our shrine an "inter-faith shrine". Last May there were even put statues of hiçndou gods on the altar of the little chapel of the apparations. BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE U.S.A. PLEASE PRAY, PRAY,PRAY FOR THE HOLY CHURCH IN BELGIUM, PORTUGAL AND ALL EUROPE. Thank you very much. Let us continue to pray for each other. In JESUS and MARY. - Henri, Belgium

My dearest Father Benedict, How good it was to see you on EWTN w/ Father Mitch on Sunday night. My Sunday night routine includes watching your shows on Hope, but to see and hear you as your present self, well, you made my heart smile. I thank God for you, for your example, your fortitude and love. You question, like we all do at times, the whys and hows of God's allowing bad things (like your accident) to happen, and yet I know you must see the good that has come out of your accident. Maybe not for you (although I do think your great love of our Creator has grown along with your suffering, if that is possible), but for all those who have returned to prayer (initially for your good, but surely for even more), who have returned to the Lord or have grown ever stronger in their faith! My, as the good sisters from St. Jerome's in Brooklyn taught us grammar schoolers back when, "We may not know on this earth the good our sacrifices obtain for the Glory of God, but in heaven we will", well, you don't have to wait til heaven! Just read your e-mail, Father! May our good Lord continue to bless you with strength, wisdom and patience. You and your mission are ever in my prayers. Please pray for us, too. With love and respect, Joanne P.S. I daily try to purposely deny myself some comfort or pleasure and "offer it up" to the Glory of God! So, as you are "offering up" the difficulty of your recovery, you are not walking alone! - Joanne, New York

Good morning, Father. So many times I go to Jan. 22 on your website and hear your words, "I chose to follow Jesus", and those words melt my heart. In being a disciple, He has given you alot of surprises this year, and you teach me how to serve Him in humility; not understanding, but totally accepting. His grace is sufficient. Thank you for being among the very best of teachers. May His peace be with you. In deep gratitude, - Cathie, Minnesota

Dear Father Benedict,
Lord,have mercy. It was wonderful to see you on EWTN, Praise be to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Thank you. I was unaware of how many times the doctors had to revive you. I just followed the instructions of Father Glenn and prayed and prayed. One time he asked us to take a deep breath for you, and I did. God has been so good to answer the prayer that you would be able to speak to us again. You can believe that I was "glued" to the set, once again, and tried to absorb as much as I could. Father, I have always believed in miracles but have never had the language to speak about them. Your messages have been wonderful. I sometimes go back in the calendar and review what you have written. I guess, Father, enough is enough. I just can't sit quietly anymore and I believe I have to speak out. However, I want to do it intelligently. Your CD, A Reason to Believe, has been my guide, and I hope you don't mind if I quote you. As a high school teacher, and a mother of five, I feel as if I am on the "front". And now with this very important election, I want to be able to tell , if questioned, not only what I believe, but why. The "grains of sand" is a wonderful image and I am thinking of having a glass of sand on my desk. Also, the fact that "Life" precedes,"Pursuit of Happiness", in the list of rights , is also a brilliant point. I pray continually for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and always, for your continued full recovery. May God bless and keep you. - Charlotte, Indiana

Send your greetings to Fr. Benedict